WAS THE SWORD OBSOLETE.

by Frank Gardner

The Field Service Pocket Book 1914 laid it down that dismounted officers were to be armed with a pistol and a sword. Mobilisation schemes even detailed on which day of mobilisation swords were to be taken to the armourer's for sharpening. It is difficult to imagine a more cumbersome thing to have suspended at one's side than a 31b sword and scabbard so if any infantry officers actually took their swords to France, they soon dispensed with them. Clearly the sword was obsolete so far as the infantry were concerned, but what about the cavalry?

Many thoughtful solders believed that the cavalry role on a European battlefield was that of mounted infantry in which the trooper used his horse to get to the scene quickly but then dismounted and fought on foot. Even some of these progressives, however, conceded that there might be the occasional fleeting opportunity for 'shock action' ( cavalry charge). Thus hike the continental cavalry who were armed with 'pop gun' carbines, the British trooper had a service rifle (the SMLE) and was proficient in its use. He also had a sword and men in the six British lancer regiments had a lance.

There can be few more intimidating sights than a horde of hostile horsemen galloping towards you with swords and lances down. That is, unless you are in a trench behind barbed wire, firing a machine gun and watching your own shells burst among the charging cavalry. The sword was, of course, obsolete on the European battlefield except on a few fleeting occasions during the opening months of the war. But what about Egypt and Palestine?

The regular cavalry looked down on the Yeomanry who were designated 'mounted troops' and not cavalry. It's ironic, therefore, that not one regular cavalry regiment took part in 'the last cavalry campaign' in Egypt/Palestine. That honour went to the despised Yeomanry and the Dominion mounted infantry (e.g. Australian Light Horse) although an Indian cavalry regiment did participate in the closing stages. The Yeomanry distinguished themselves making several charges in which they made good use of their swords. The Dominion horsemen were initially armed only with rifle and bayonet but when the British CinC offered to provide them with swords, the divisional commander declined in the belief that as action was imminent there was not sufficient time to train his men in their use and that the sword in the hands of an untrained man was useless. In the event his men charged using their bayonets as swords with notable success. So the sword was not quite obsolete, but soon would be.

STRAIGHTENNG THE LINE

by Bob Butcher

It is often said the British generals' obsession with uniformity made them order unnecessary and ill-prepared local attacks to 'straighten the line' or to recover recently lost ground of little value. No doubt some of these attacks were ill-prepared although I suspect that as the war progressed, that was less often the case. But were they unnecessary?

In a linear defence system there were often good tactical reasons for straightening the line. A bend in the front line might enable a position to come under fire from several directions. It mⁱght also present a weak spot from which an enemy advance could enable defenders farther along the line to be attacked from the rear or to be cut off. Eliminating a dangerous bend could therefore be a sound defensive operation.

A bend in the line also presented difficulties if an attack was to be made from the area for it meant that troops from one part of the line would have a different distance to cover across no-man's land than those starting from another part. This could mean that some of the attackers would be exposed to all the enemy fire until the rest caught up. Attacking from a line that was not reasonably straight could also mean than some troops would have to change direction in no man's land, obviously a difficult manoeuvre. The timing of artillery support, especially a creeping barrage, would be extremely difficult.

Obviously losing parts of the line could not be good for morale, but apart from that, if the enemy went to the trouble of capturing a position, it would almost certainly be of importance to him. It follows that the position would also be important to the defenders. It will be remembered that a German counter attack could-always be-expected-after he British-captured an-enemy- position, a practice that added to German losses, especially on the Somme.

Undoubtedly many British counter attacks in the early months of the war were botched and ill-prepared. One thoughtful general (yes there were some!) came up with the following rule of thumb: 'Those made instantly on the initiative of the local commander usually succeeded; those ordered by higher authority and made in a hurry usually failed; deliberate counter attacks with time for preparation often succeeded.^' Although I have no research to prove it, I think that this rule was generally observed from 1917 onwards and 'higher authority' only ordered a counter attack when the situation was clear and time had been allowed for adequate preparation.

THE FINAL SAY

by J.P. Lethbridge

Conscription was started in February 1916. In March 1916 a three tier system was set up for exemption claims. There were local tribunals inducing the Birmingham one; first appeal tribunals including the Birmingham and District Section of the Warwickshire Appeals Tribunal, and a central tribunal in London for final appeals. It had ten members as follows:

lieutenant Colonel James Edward Hubert Gascoyne the 4th Marquis of Salisbury born 1861, a former Tory cabinet minister, prominent AnOican, Boer War veteran, and married with four children. His father was the late 3rd Marquis of Salisbury, a former Tory Prime Minister. The family fortune was founded by Elizabeth I's Secretary of State Robert Cecil 1st Earl of Salisbury. The 4th Marquis of Salisbury was later a strong opponent of appeasement and died in 1947 aged eighty-six.

Major General George Sydenham Clarke the 1st Baron Sydenham of Combe. Born 1848 the son of a Lincolnshire vicar. Major General Clarke had served with the Royal Engineers and in Whitehall and was a notable military journalist. He was Governor of Victoria, Australia, from 1901 .to 1903 and of Bombay, India, from 1907 to 1913 when he was made a lord. He was originally a strong Liberal but later swung to the right. He died in 1933 aged eighty-four. He had married but his one daughter had died young and he left no heirs.

George Nicoll Barnes. Born 1859 the son of a Yorkshire engineer turned Scottish mill manager. George was an engineer and suffered unemployment in his youth. He rose to be General Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers and was Labour MP for the Gorbals in Glasgow from 1906 to 1922. He was married with two sons and a daughter. One son was killed in action in the First World War. George Barnes later worked for the League of Nations. He died in 1940 aged eighty-one.

Sir Algernon Frith. Born 1856 a Yorkshire carpet manufacturer's son. On his mother's side he was a cousin of the liberal Prime Minister Asquith. After his father's death Frith inherited his baronetcy i.e. a hereditary knighthood, and took over the business turning it into a multi-national. He helped lead the Association of British Chambers of Commerce. He was married with one daughter and died in 1936 aged eighty.

Sir Arthur Osmond Williams usually called Osmond Williams a Welsh landowner. Born 1849 the son of David Williams a Liberal MP for Merionethshire. Sir Osmond was a leading Merionethshire figure and its Lord Lieutenant. He was a Radical Liberal MP for it from 1900 to 1910 being made a baronet in 1909. He was married with two sons and two daughters. His oldest son Captain Osmond Williams was killed at Loos in September 1915 having earlier won the DSO. Sir Osmond Williams died in 1927 aged seventy-seven.

Sir George Younger, born in 1851, the oldest son of James Younger a master brewer. George ran the brewery after his father died, was a Clackmannashire county councillor from 1890 to 1906 and a Tory MP for Ayr from 1906 to 1922. His knighthood was a baronetcy given him in 1911. He was appointed Tory Chairman in 1917 and created the 1st Viscount Younger of Leckie in 1923. He was married and of his three sons the second was killed in the Boer War and the third n the First World War. Viscount Younger died in 1929 aged se six and his oldest son inherited his title.

Sir Francis Charles Gore, born 1846. He was the oldest son of the Honourable Charles Alexander Gore whose brother was the 4th Earl of Arran. Sir Francis Gore was a barrister and Solicitor to the Board of Inland Revenue from 1894 until he retired in 1911. He was married with three sons and died in 1940 aged ninety-three.

Sir Robert Warrand Carlyle born in 1859 the son of a Scottish Presbyterian clergyman. After study at Glasgow University he entered the Indian Civil Service and rose to be effectively Indian Minister of Agriculture where he encouraged rural co-operatives. He was an expert on the Middle Ages. He was married but childless. He died in 1934 aged seventy-four.

Cyril Jackson born 1863 a Sussex stockbroker's son. Cyril inherited a large private income and devoted his life to politics and charitable work. He was an expert on education and unemployment, was Inspector General of Schools for Western Australia from 1896 to 1903 and represented Limehouse on the London County Council from 1907 to 1913. He was knighted in 1917 and helped get the school leaving age raised to fourteen in 1918. He never married and died in 1924 aged sixty-one.

John George Talbot -KC born 1861. His father was Conservative MP for West Kent from 1868 to 1878 and Oxford University from 1878 to 1910. John Talbot got a first in classics at Oxford in 1882. He became a barrister and was made a KC, ie King's Counsel, in 1906. His speciality was presenting cases for parliamentary commissions. He was appointed a judge and knighted in 1924. He was married with two sons and a daughter. He died in 1938 aged seventy-seven.

To sum up the tribunal was politically, socially, occupationally and geographically balanced. It had a tough job to do and it needed to be fair although complete fairness was impossible.

DID YOU KNOW.

As a wartime measure rents were restricted by law but in 1917 a survey of 150,000 working class homes in Birmingham found that one third of tenants had been illegally overcharged. Fears were expressed that the war was leading to increased excessive drinking by Birmingham women but between January and June 1914, 511 women had been arrested for drunkenness but in the same period in 1915 the number had actually dropped to 182. The incidence of Spanish flu in 1918 was higher in the spa town of Bath than in industrial Birmingham despite the popular belief that the poor were more likely to fall victim than the more affluent.

The Bulletin of the Birmingham Branch of the WFA

Compiled by Bob Butcher

July 2008